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15 questions to ask a restaurant payroll or HR provider

Written by Back of House Ops, which is one of the options compared. Checked on October 1, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.

What should a restaurant ask before hiring a payroll or HR provider?

Ask who prepares the inputs each cycle, how tips and the tipped minimum wage are handled, who is the employer of record, what the price is in your busiest month, and how you leave. A provider that answers those five plainly, in writing, is worth a second conversation.

Who does the work

1. Who gathers and checks timecards and tips before each run: your team or ours?
2. Will we have a named contact, and who covers when they are out?
3. What do you need from us each cycle, and by when?
4. Does anything get submitted without our approval?

Restaurant specifics

5. How do you handle tip pools, and can you show who received what for any shift?
6. Do you check the tipped minimum wage shift by shift, as Massachusetts requires?
7. How do you handle an employee who works two jobs at two rates in one week?
8. How are final paychecks produced on the day someone is let go?
9. Who files the state new-hire report and tracks I-9 deadlines?

Employment relationship

10. Are we the only employer, or is this co-employment?
11. Whose tax accounts are payroll taxes filed under?
12. What will you not advise on, and who do you send us to for that?

Price and exit

13. What is the total monthly cost at our peak headcount, including every module we would need?
14. Is there a set-up fee, a minimum term or a fee to leave?
15. If we leave, what records do we get, in what format, and how fast?

Get the answers in the proposal, not only on the call. If you are moving mid-year, the payroll transition checklist covers the handover.

How BOHO answers the main ones

BOHO prepares the inputs and you approve every run; nothing is submitted without sign-off. Your restaurant is the only employer. Pricing is a flat $495, $895 or $1,795+ a month by size, with no per-employee fee. BOHO serves Massachusetts restaurants only, is not a PEO or a law firm, and the service scope page lists what it will not do.

Massachusetts rules

The rules any option has to handle

Quoted from our answer library, where each one links to the official source.

How do I check that a server's tips brought them up to $15?
Shift by shift. Since January 1, 2019, the employer must compare the service rate plus tips against the minimum wage at the end of each shift, and add any shortfall to the next paycheck. A busy Saturday cannot average out a slow Tuesday.
Full answer and official source
When is the final paycheck due in Massachusetts?
If you fire or lay someone off, you pay them in full on their last day. If they quit, you pay them in full on the next regular payday. An employee cannot agree to waive these deadlines.
Full answer and official source
How is overtime calculated for someone who works two jobs at different rates?
Under federal law, the regular rate for the week is a weighted average: total straight-time pay from all rates divided by total hours worked. Overtime hours are then owed an extra half of that blended rate.
Full answer and official source
How fast do new hires have to be reported to Massachusetts?
Within 14 days of the start date, to the Department of Revenue, for every employer regardless of size. Rehires who were off payroll for 30 days or more, including returning seasonal staff, are reported again.
Full answer and official source

Rules checked against official sources on September 24, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.

Common questions

What is the most important question to ask a payroll provider?

Who prepares and checks the inputs before each run. Most payroll errors in restaurants come from the hours, tips and employee changes fed into the system, not from the calculation.

Should a restaurant choose a PEO or a payroll service?

Choose a PEO if you want co-employment and pooled benefits. Choose payroll software or an administration service if you want to remain the only employer. The difference matters more than the price.

See whether BOHO fits your restaurant

A 20-minute fit call covers your size, your current setup and what would change. No employee data needed, and we will say so if another option suits you better.

Book a fit call See pricing

Your restaurant remains the employer of record and approves payroll and employment decisions. BOHO is not a PEO, a staffing agency, or legal counsel.